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Friday, June 3, 2011

77,000 federal workers paid more than governors (Washington Times)

More than 77,000 federal government employees throughout the country — including computer operators, more than 5,000 air traffic controllers, 22 librarians and one interior designer — earned more than the governors of the states in which they work.

The findings, from a Congressional Research Service report requested by Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, were released at a time when public workers’ salaries and benefits are under scrutiny across the country as governments try to streamline.

CRS reviewed 2009 salary figures, the most recent available, and found 77,057 employees who earned more in annual pay than their respective governors. Of those workers, 18,351 were doctors — the highest percentage. The second-highest total was for 5,170 air traffic controllers — likely both front-line controllers and their supervisors.

In Maryland, 7,283 federal employees — about 7 percent of all full-time federal employees in the state — earned more than Gov. Martin O'Malley’s $150,000 salary. Maryland was topped by Colorado, which in 2009 had 10,875 employees who made more than the $90,000 salary of the governor, Bill Ritter.

MY COMMENT: the article goes on to lament how much state governors are being asked to do for so little money. What the article should be asking is HOW IS THE U.S. NOW ANY DIFFERENT THAT ANY BANANA REPUBLIC? HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM RUSSIA WITH ITS ONLY TWO CITIES, MOSCOW AND ST. PETE HAVING ALL THE JOBS? (NEW YORK AND WASHINGTON, ANYBODY?)

The taxpayer money is flowing from all over the country into the coffers of Washington (federal government) and New York (wall st via bailouts). And the government, as a giant parasite, is taking care of its own: its employees by giving them astronomical salaries (at least 40% over the private sector) and life-time benefits, which are unsustainable and have been possible only through massive debt and deficits. How is this different from any other third-world country? I'll tell you how: the tax rate in countries like Russia and Argentina is around 16% rather than 40% in the U.S. That is the only difference!

Well..., maybe another difference is that the U.S. has a vastly larger amount of regulation, so that the word "freedom" in America nowadays is little more than mere rhetoric.